TWIG-C™ – March 23, 2026

Mar 23, 2026 | TWIG-C™

GOVCON INSIGHTS AND INFORMATION:

Navigating the Recent Ban on Foreign Ownership for SBA Loans – the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) banned foreign nationals, non‑citizens, and lawful permanent residents whose principal residence was outside of the U.S. from owning any interest in a small business applicant of a SBA‑guaranteed small business loan under the 7(a) and 504 programs. Effective April 1, 2026, that ban will expand to the Surety Bond (Procedural Notice 5000-877134) and Microloan (Procedural Notice 5000-877232) programs.

Major SBIR reboot finally moving after months of uncertainty – The Senate has advanced a bill that would reauthorize the SBIR and STTR programs through 2031 after a long lapse, and it comes with some notable changes for small R&D firms. The package adds tougher foreign‑risk screening and introduces new “Strategic Breakthrough” phase 2 awards that can reach up to $30 million. Here’s a look at what those shifts mean for innovators and contracting officers.

Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Rigging Bids for Healthcare-Related U.S. Air Force Projects – The owner of a storage sales company pleaded guilty to two felony counts for conspiring to rig bids and defraud the U.S. Department of War in connection with the sale of shelving and storage products to the U.S. Air Force to service multiple healthcare facilities, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division announced today.

Navy revamping SBIR, STTR programs with focus on speed – As soon as President Donald Trump signs the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer program reauthorization act into law, the Department of the Navy will be ready. While the House still needs pass the SBIR bill, the Navy has been using the last almost six months to update its program.

W International Companies Agree to Pay $10.5M to Settle False Claims Act Allegations for Overcharging the Air Force and the Navy for Weld Tables – The Justice Department today announced that W International LLC, W International SC LLC, Precision Metal Equipment Handling LLC, and Edward Walker (collectively, “Defendants”) have agreed to pay $10.5 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that they knowingly overcharged the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy for weld tables.

FAR OVERHAUL UPDATE:

Today, March 16th, 2026, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council has updated the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) to conform with the changes to the codified Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) as outlined in FAR Case 2025-007, Trade Agreements Thresholds, Final Rule, effective March 13, 2026.

The threshold changes were updated in the following RFO parts:

OPPORTUNITIES:

Army RFI: Commercial Software.
DOD RFI: Threat Systems Operations and Maintenance Services.
Army CSO: Next‑gen uncrewed systems.
FAA RFI: Post Quantum Cryptography Support.
VA RFI: Network Based Encryption Key Recovery Storage Solution.
Commerce opens AI export phase: industry proposals requested.
USN RFI: IT Telecommunications.
Army RFP: SETA Support for Public Safety Communications (PSC).
DCSA RFI: Identity Proofing.
USSOCOM RFI: Commercial Satellite Communications.
DOT RFI: IT Support and WCF Transformation Services.
DHS RFI: Contract Resource Management Support.
USAF RFI: AI Tools to Accelerate Mobility Aircraft Acquisition.
AFRL/RIKD RFI: Modern Unmanned-warfare Systems Environment.
DOJ RFI: Inventory Management System.
VA RFI: ITAM Program Management Support.
GovCon Opportunities at DOE—Everything You Need to Know